Law enforcemnet officers gather at a staging area on Route 33 after closing down the highway for a standoff in the Brighton Arms apartments in Neptune City.

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While the morning traffic started rushing up and down Route 33, Sgt. James Isacson and Patrolman Michael Kyle watched a woman, who had one arm in a sling, struggle to escape a first-floor apartment in the Brighton Arms III complex. The officers took up tactical shields, ran toward the woman and pulled her from the balcony, said the department's public safety director, Ed Kirschenbaum.

It was the conclusion of a harrowing overnight hostage situation for her, but just the beginning of a daylong standoff for the authorities.